- Date
- 8–21 July 2011
- Launcher
- Space Shuttle
- Mission
- STS-135
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The final Space Shuttle mission. In July 2011 Atlantis delivered supplies and spare parts to the ISS, closing the shuttle’s thirty-year era.
After Columbia and the decision to retire the shuttle, its main remaining task was completing the ISS. STS-135 carried the Raffaello MPLM filled with supplies, equipment and spare parts.
Crew
COMMANDERChristopher FergusonCommander of the final shuttle mission, STS-135.
PILOTDouglas HurleyPilot of Atlantis on the program’s final flight.
MISSION SPECIALISTSandra MagnusMission specialist responsible for payload and station operations.
MISSION SPECIALISTRex WalheimMission specialist and veteran of several shuttle flights.
Mission timeline
Select a phase to read what happened. Every chapter has its own detailed page.
The final countdown
Atlantis lifted off from Pad 39A as the last shuttle ever to leave Earth.
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The station’s final shuttle cargo
Atlantis docked with the ISS and the crew unloaded Raffaello with supplies, equipment and spare parts.
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The end of a thirty-year era
After leaving the ISS, Atlantis descended to a Kennedy Space Center runway, ending the Space Shuttle program.
Read the chapterMission in numbers
- Launch
- 8. 7. 2011, 15:29 UTC
- Duration
- 12 dní 18 h 28 min
- Crew
- 4
- Flight number
- 135. a poslední
Atlantis spent most of the mission at the ISS. The crew unloaded Raffaello, loaded waste and equipment no longer needed aboard the station, and helped bridge the transition without a U.S. crewed launcher.
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The mission succeeded. Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center on 21 July 2011, ending the Space Shuttle program after 135 flights.
Facts
- STS-135 was the 135th and final Space Shuttle mission and Atlantis’s 33rd flight.
- Only four astronauts flew, the smallest shuttle crew after the Challenger accident.
- Raffaello delivered supplies and spare parts for roughly a year of station operations.
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Why did the Space Shuttle stop flying?
Answer in your own words — everything you need is in the article above.
Sources & further reading
- NASA: STS-135, the Space Shuttle’s Grand Finale — mission and crew overview.
- NASA: NASA Sets Launch Date… — mission logistics and significance.
- NASA: Space Transportation System Recordation — the program’s close after STS-135.
Spaceflightpedia. (n.d.). STS-135. Retrieved 9 October 2026, from https://spaceflightpedia.com/article/sts-135
article text — CC-BY-SA · ◉ NASA photography — public domain · ✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sources
